The Hateful 8 released on December 25, 2015, is the 8th film released by director Quentin Tarantino. Following the habits of the director Quentin Tarantino notably stars actors that have played in his movies before, reprising some similar roles, such as Samual L Jackson who plays Major Marcus Warren, Kurt Russel who plays John the hangman, and Walton Goggins as Sheriff Chris Mannix. Taking place right after his world renown film Django Unchained, this film was supposed to be a sequel to the critically acclaimed film but due to leaks and many behind the scenes issues the idea of a sequel was scrapped. However, the time period was not, set shortly after the American Civil war we find ourselves in the midst of a bunch ruthless outlaws, bounty hunters, gunslingers, and law men as they all resided in a hostel waiting out a blizzard.
The film released to very polarizing and apposing views with some deeming it another masterpiece from Quentin and others claiming that all of the behind the scenes issues and rewrites ended up costing the film its legendary status and left it as a boring and unremarkable film. However I find that this film in general is an underrated masterpiece in many regards but has noticeable flaws. But in order to understand what makes this both a fantastic movie and flawed in some regard we must understand the basics of the story.
The story in general is not overcomplicated in premise but in delivery is where it shines, the general synopsis in the story is that it is a “who done it” murder mystery set in the wild west. The story begins with major Marcus warren, an ex-civil war union major now bounty hunter, as he stands in the road during a blizzard flagging down a carriage, bounties all about his now dead horse. He runs into another bounty hunter by the name of John the Ruth aka the hangman, like his name would suggest he prefers to bring his bounties in alive, he, his driver, and a lady by the name of Daisy Domergue(his bounty) all ride coach together in order to get to a cabin rental that would be a good spot to wait out the blizzard. Marcus joins them and along the way they meet the possible sherif of Redrock(the place they will turn their bounties in) by the name of Chris Mannix. The lot of them all go to the cabin where multiple people, all of concerning and confrontational backgrounds, have already taken up the cabin as their refuge from the storm.
Arguments begin to happen as there are many people from both of sides of the civil war that share residence. John Hangman is the only man that carries any sort of commanding presence for the entire group. He demands and takes everyone’s guns in order to make sure peace stays within the group. This all comes to a halt as in a shocking turn John the Hangman is murdered through a poising. The rest of the movie turns into a who done it mystery of who killed him and why. While from a faraway perspective the story seems relatively simplistic and it is, but that’s not the beauty of it.
While in most murder mystery type of movies we follow a detective of some kind or a general person who wants to solve the problem that will follow throughout the story, or in another words a main character who we are almost certain isn’t going to die or we know for a fact isn’t the killer. That’s not the case with this movie, through how characters are presented such as their body language, dialogue, and actions we have no real clue as to who is telling the truth or who is truly a good person. This in return causes us in return to really immerse and put ourselves in the shoes as someone who is stuck in a cabin with all these untrust worthy individuals. However, it is in our human nature to form connections and find something to trust and to relate to. So, with every character on paper receiving the same amount of information and giving off the same amount to each other it is up to us to read body language and perceive actions as the truth or not just like the characters do in the story. Meaning that each viewing experience will cause us to trust different characters and have favorites or at bare minimum have least hated. This is where the main controversy comes by with the movie, the movie forces you to lower your standards on what kind of characters do you like or trust. With no planted main
character, the movie requires you to put in some leg work to understand what is happening in the situation and who to trust. With every person being in general untrustworthy or slightly unlikeable, in return people found it hard to be incentivized to put in that extra work for characters they didn’t care for.
But regardless of the controversy the movie has a lot more to love from the technical side of how the movie was shot and made. Like I previously stated the character acting was specifically directed to make it so every character was inherently untrust worthy. So this put a lot of strain on the actors to interpert how their character would react to a situation and what body language to show in order to present that. Because even the actors themselves did not know if their character was lying, famously Walton Goggins was asked if his character really was the sheriff of Redrock or was just lying in order to gain a spot on that wagon and to gain some authority. He notably replies, “If you ever find out be sure not to tell me if he was.” So its a credit to the actors to play liars without us the audience ever knowing for sure who was lying. Beyond the general acting the style of shooting was extremely deliberate and thought out as the location played a big part in how this movie was filmed. As this movie has roughly about 2-3 locations with the movie 90% of the time taking place inside the main cabin and the others taking place in accessories to it such as the stables or on the road close. This limited amount of location required filming movement to be tight, but rather than let this be a detriment to the movie itself it plays to its benefit creating tight and closterphobic shots throughout the production. With suspicion and intensity being a primary theme of the film being so enclosed with these untrustworthy people in its self-causes us the audience to feel tense and uncomfortable. Not to mention with the harsh environment being created inside the area that is supposed to be “safe” it emphasizes the danger and ferocity of the blizzard outside, fun fact the filming itself was so strenuous because of the weather it added additional weeks to the overall rushed production. But when you combine stellar villain acting, aggressive filmmaking techniques, and even harsher nature you create an uneasy and nerve racking viewing experience.
That viewing experience is why I absolutely love this movie and cannot recommend it enough. Even though this is a slow burn of a viewing experience and in all intended purpose it is an uncomfortable one I find it an extremely immersive one. You are not in the viewing seat from any one “main” character rather it allows to place yourself as if you were another outlaw stuck in this cabin. In my eyes that just this movie experience to just a whole nother level, from 3rd person to 1st person, we the viewer decide who’s “the good guys’’ and who’s “the bad guys”. While due to some story elements some people will always end up fitting either one of these categories we must decide who’s telling the truth, who’s lying, and most importantly who is our favorite. My personal favorites are the ones I mentioned at the start, Marcus Warran, John Ruth aka the hangman, and of course Chris Mannix. So go watch and lemme know who your favorite is or at bare minimum who can you stand to look at the most without wanting to punch your screen.
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